Charity Insights

As mentioned in my last blog post, the raised beds had been severely damaged. After discussing the practicability of the raised beds with staff, I found that raised beds are not any more advantageous for wheel chair users than normal flat beds are. I decided to change the plans and remove the raised beds, this fitted with our model for sustainability as it meant the garden was a lot easier to maintain the long run.

Getting rid of the raised beds meant hiring a skip, which meant tenancy meeting. This impacted the budget and a lot of man power was required to shift the more than 3 cubic metres of soil.

As I’ve now finished the internship I’d definitely recommend participating in the charity insights scheme. It allowed me to pursue a passion without forfeiting a summer. Working in this sector develops skills which you don’t necessarily develop in university. Being able to clearly and coherently give instructions and convey your ideas is vital in work conditions. Listening and adapting to feedback given is equally essential for the end design to be up to the expectations of the client, especially when there are time restrictions.

Read Week 4 in full

The works began on the garden and would continue for my remaining time on the internship. We were slightly delayed as BT sent a team, as a part of their charity pledge, to clean up the garden; however they had not completed their works and the wooden borders containing the existing raised beds had been damaged.

As the garden hadn’t been maintained or weeded for more than several years a good deal of time was spent clearing these weeds and trees growing out of the patio slabs. We were again delayed as we weren’t clear to use chemicals in the garden as there were several pets and we didn’t want to risk poisoning them.

Only once the area was cleared were we able to more accurately judge the amount of work required to just repair the garden. Getting rid of the weeds revealed how the hardcore mixture between the patio slabs had deteriorated. Correcting this would put us further behind schedule.

During this time one of the most fulfilling aspects is getting the residents of the home involved. Most are very eager to help out and learn new skills. We’ve been teaching the more capable of them DIY and gardening skills so they can maintain the garden afterwards without the help of others. When I was researching I found that routine is extremely important for individuals with degenerative diseases, gardening is a fantastic way for them to leave the house and still be in a safe environment. Its also a reliable activity that they can do daily and goes hand in hand with the sustainability of the garden.

Read Week 3 in full

According to the project timetable we set ourselves, the first two weeks were dedicated to research and planning. As I’ve only ever visited sensory gardens my knowledge on them was limited, so before drawing up the plan I wanted to see other supported living facility gardens to see how they utilise their space. There was an issue as there weren’t other homes like ours within reach. Instead I contacted several sources which normally provide sensory gardens with the necessary equipment to gain insight on what’s more popular.

I organised several meetings with different gardening agencies to gather their perspective and used that as the foundation to the planning. Some of the advice they gave was impractical due to budgetary or time limitations, for instance, removing some of the paved area in the garden and replacing it with compost was outside our capabilities. I quickly realised smaller scale ideas could be just as effective as the larger ones. One smaller scale project we started was designing murals for the garden walls using bright vivid colours as this was a common feature in sensory gardens. It’s particularly useful to the residents who are visually impaired as large murals with bright colours, which are basic in design, can still translate to them.

I used several programs I have had experience with at university to help visualise the plans. This was done mainly to help the staff and residents picture what I would be doing and to clear my choices with them first.

Read Week 1-2 in full

During my time with the internship we’ll be designing and constructing a sensory garden for a local supported living facility, funded and maintained by a charity called FitzRoy. FitzRoy is a great organisation I’ve worked with before; they focus on helping and supporting families and individuals with learning disabilities. For more information visit http://www.fitzroy.org/

As I mentioned I have worked with FitzRoy before, this is why I asked to intern here. While working there last summer I noticed that their garden was in a state of disrepair and so I proposed a project to my supervisor. I wanted to create a sensory garden. Sensory gardens are a fantastic tool for individuals with learning disabilities and physical handicaps. It allows them to engage with the environment in ways they’re not necessarily used to.

Sustainability is an important consideration to take into account when deciding whether the project was feasible. The goal was to create a garden that can easily be maintained as the residents would be the ones tending to it. However, some of these residents are physically disabled, so ease of access for wheelchairs was a higher priority. This complicated designs as raised beds would be preferable for wheel chair users though not ideal when considering costs, material availability and man power. The decisions would ultimately be decided by the residents and staff as at the end of the day they would be the ones maintaining and using it daily.

Read Getting Settled… in full